Michele L. Aldrich and

Alan E. Leviton

Kirtley Mather’sSourcebooks of Geology

1400-1900 (1939) 1900-1950 (1967)

Outline

1. Mather biography2. Sourcebooks in general3. Sourcebook 1400-19004. Sourcebook 1900-19505. Conclusion

Mather’s Early Life

• Born 1888 in Chicago• BA Denison University 1909• PhD Univ. Chicago 1915• Taught at Queens Univ. 1915-1918• Taught at Denison 1918-1924

Map of the Front Ranges of the Andes where Mather worked in Bolivia and Argentina.

Mather’s Life and Career

• Taught at Harvard University 1924-1954• Taught at Univ. New Mexico 1954-1970• Died 1978

• Scopes Trial, 1925• Mass. Teachers’ Loyalty Oath 1930s• Opposed McCarthyism,1950s• Active in AAAS – President, Board member

Kirtley Mather in New Mexico

Sourcebooks to 1939

• Astronomy (1929)• Mathematics (1929)• Physics (1935)• Geology (1939)

Source Books 1948-1967

• Greek Science (1948)• Animal Biology (1951)• Chemistry (1952)• Astronomy 1900-1950 (1960)• Psychology (1965)• Geology 1900-1960 (1967)

Sourcebooks, 1967 -2002

• Geology, 1900-1950 (1967)• Chemistry, 1900-1950 (1968(• Mathematics, 1200-1800 (1969) • Classical Analysis (1973)• Medieval Science (1974)• Geography (1978)• Astronomy 1900-1975 (1979)• Mathematical Logic, 1876-1931 (2002)

Comparison of Sourcebooks

1499-1800 1900-1950

1939 1967 708 pages 438 pages 128 author’s 60 authors 5.8 pp/author 7.3 pp/author S. Mason, coeditor No coeditor McGraw Hill publ. Harvard Unv. Press publ. G. Walcott series ed. E. Madden, series ed.

Sourcebook Commonalities

Survey Method• Selection by Great Ideas• Organization Author Birth date Peculiarities• Indexes

Sourcebook I

Shirley Mason,Co-editor,Sourcebook I

Mather and Mason’s Predecessors

• Karl von Zittel, History of Geology and Paleontology (1899), English and German.

• Archibald Geikie, Founders of Geology (1897, 1905)

• George Merrill, Contribtions. to History of American Geology (1906).

• Frank Adams, Birth and Development of Geol. Sciences(1938).

15th 16th 17th 18th 19th0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Source Book Excerpts By Century 1400-1900

Num

ber

of E

xcer

pts

N = 128

France Germany Italy UK Other0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Author Nationality, 1400-1800

Other: Demnark, Switzerland, USA.

Num

ber

of A

utho

rs

Canad

a

Franc

e

Ger

man

y

Switzer

land

UKUSA

Oth

er0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Author Nationality, 1800-1900

Nu

mb

er o

f A

uth

ors

Other: Austria, Belgium, New Zealand

1900-09 1910-19 1920-29 1930-39 1940-45 1950-530

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Source Book Excerpts By Decade 1900-1960N

umbe

r of

Exc

erpt

s

N = 60

USA UK Russia Sweden German Other0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Author Nationality, 1900-1960

Num

ber

of A

utho

rs

Other: Austria,Canada, Finland Japan, Netherlands, South Africa

Not in Sourcebook 1900-1950

• Paleontology Micropaleo, 1920s Modern Synthesis, 1940s• China• Bretz, Channeled Scablands• Wegener

Durability of Sourcebook 1400-1900

• Predecessors

• Mason as coeditor

• G. Walcott as series editor

• Survey results

• Trained the trainers

Datedness of Sourcebook 1900-1950• Mather’s Experiences

• No coeditor

• Edward Madden as series editor

• Survey results

• Pioneer, no predecessors

Thanks

• To Ken Bork for his biography of Mather and for many insights via email as we composed this presentation.

• To Mark Aldrich for Power Point help.

• To Josephine Hernandez for reference help..